


But Why Do You Want Him?

by FanficNinja



Series: Together Forever [2]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: A sequel to The Only One That I Want, Better summary coming soon, Children, Churros, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Implied Child Abuse, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Short!Simmons, Short!Tucker, Socially awkward, Works as a stand-alone though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2018-11-03 10:08:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10965081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficNinja/pseuds/FanficNinja
Summary: Tex is staying with Grif, Simmons and Kai for two weeks. It doesn't help her already sour mood when she realises they're doing way better then she is. After all, she thought they hated eachother. Guess she was wrong...This is a sequel to 'The Only One That I Want'. Reading it isn't necessary to read this fic, though it will help with some minor things! :)





	1. The Beginning

Simmons ran around his and Grif's now shared house in a state of panic.

He kept grabbing anything out of place and shoving it into the nearby cupboard. Usually he'd be much more tidy and efficient, but with who was coming over? He wasn't taking any chances. Grif (who was watching his boyfriend from the couch) cleared his throat, causing Simmons to stop right in his place. "Dude, you okay?" He questioned.

"No!" Simmons retorted, surprisingly honest. "Tex is coming over and the house is a mess!"

"Yeah, but it's always a mess" Grif responded casually. "Why cover it up for her?"

"Because, Grif..." Simmons sounded tired. "It's Tex. She could kill us!"

"Yeah, she could" Grif admitted. "But we're letting her stay here and-"

Simmons glared. "Only because you owe Church a favour!"

"And!" Grif raised a hand to shush the red-head. "I don't think she'll kill us for that. According to Church she's not doing so well. Even shittier then us. I think it's safe to assume we'll be fine. Besides, if she does kill us, Church will kill her"

"You really think Church can kill her?" Simmons raised an eyebrow.

"No" Grif replied. "But his sister can"

"Fair point" Simmons sighed.

"Listen, Simmons" Grif's tone became serious as he spoke. "She's not going to hurt us. She is not the boss of this house, okay? We are. If she tries to push us around we can kick her out. Church will understand... probably. I don't understand what you're so worried about dude" He stated, leaning back onto the couch. "Also, it's been what? Three months since I told you she was coming. Usually you'd be ready for her by now. You're the prepared one after all"

"Okay, for one; it's been two and a half months" Simmons corrected. "And second, it didn't help that you kept distracting me every chance you got!" He furrowed his brows at the Hawaiian.

"Hey, sex isn't distracting Simmons" Grif said. "It's stress relief"

Simmons face went completely red. "B-but... we never..? I don't..." He stuttered anxiously.

"A man can dream Simmons!" Grif smirked playfully. "I mean, it's up to you whenever you wanna get off your ass and stop being a virgin... just saying" Simmons made a small squeaking noise. Grif snorted. "You're such a cute nerd" Grif laughed. Simmons blushed heavily.

Before the Dutch-Irish man could respond any further, there was a knock on the door.

"Um, that must be her..." Simmons said nervously. He gave himself a quick check in the mirror before going over to the front door. He opened it slowly. "Hey Tex-Oh. Uh, never mind" Simmons smiled sheepishly. "H-hi Kai" He gave a small, shy wave.

Kai walked in with some boxes in her hand. She eyed Simmons, her gaze confused. "Tex? Why didn't anyone tell me I was getting a new fucking nickname!" She snarled. "And what kind of nickname is Tex anyway? It's just a state. It's considered a manly state too! Fuck that. I'm proud of my lady dick!" She said confidently, placing the boxes on the kitchen bench. "And next time, at least let me chose my nickname" She babbled on. "I'd've gone with something classy. Like lesbian car wash!"

"Yeah..." Grif agreed. "Wait, what?!?"

Simmons chuckled weakly. "Actually Kai, I um... thought you were someone else" Simmons informed. "You know that girl whose staying over here for a few days?"

"Allison, right?" Kai tilted her head to the side.

Simmons nodded. "Yeah, well, we call her Tex" He told.

"Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense" Kai shrugged.

"And um... Just got to ask but..." Simmons spoke up. "What's in those boxes?" He asked, pointing to the ones she had placed on the bench. "Are they groceries or..?"

"What?" Kai blinked. "Oh, those. Nah" Simmons rolled his eyes. _God forbid one of them actually did their chores._ "There was a garage sale on and I thought I'd check it out. There was some pretty cool shit there so I bought a box. Like, check this out..." She put her hand in the box and moved it around for a while, before swiftly pulling out a baby mobile. It was of some ducks, puppies and other small animals. "Cool, right?" She asked, spinning it around. "Figured I'd send it over to Donut and Lopez once they had their baby"

"Huh" Simmons smiled. "That's actually really nice of you"

"Oh! And I also bought a bunch of pregnancy tests too. Can't have any more abortions this week, like seriously" She groaned.

"And I take that previous statement back" Simmons face palmed. "Wait, what did you mean any more!?!" He shrieked.

Before she could answer the question, they heard a small knock on the door. They turned to see the door wide open and Tex leaning back on it. She was wearing a black jumper and military patterned pants. She glanced at them, one by one, before groaning. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything here, cock-bites?"

"N-no! Of course not. We were just... _talking_ " Simmons urged. "How've you been?"

"Not that great" She said, walking in. She examined the house before continuing. "But, uh, that might be because I had to get on a plane and head here instead of staying where I was originally told to" She hissed silently. Simmons gave a quick glare to Grif and mumbled 'I wonder whose fault that is' before moving over to Tex with a key in hand. "What's that?" She said.

"Well, you'll be staying here a couple days so I figured you might need the key" He tried his hardest not to sound fearful. He was failing miserably.

"Thanks" She said genuinely, before taking the key away from Simmons. "This is a nice place. How long have you two been living here, exactly?" She questioned.

"Two and a half months"                            "Three months"

Simmons and Grif both said in sync. They promptly glared at eachother afterwards. "Right..." Tex fidgeted with the key in her hand and looked back at the two. "So, aside from her" She gestured to Kai. "Does anyone else live here? Any kids?"

Simmons face reddened and Grif shook his head nonchalantly. "Doubt we even could because of someone not leaving my balls alone back in the eighth grade"

Tex gave a light chuckle. "I guess that's true"

"So, um, Tex?" Simmons gave a fake grin. "You wanna see where you'll be staying?" Tex nodded and the two left the room and went down the hallway. Grif and Kai staying in place.

"So?" Kai began. "How long will she be staying here?"

"Two weeks" Grif said sharply.

"Is she fun to be around?"

"Nope" Grif said truthfully.

"Aw" Kai pouted. "How come all the ladies you guys know are always bitches!"

"I don't know. Church is like a magnet for 'em" He quipped. "Speaking of Church, when is that fucks Wedding? We need to know if we're gonna fly over"

"Two and a half weeks" Kai told.

"Fucking great" Grif groaned. "We're gonna have to bring her along"

"Woah. Is she that much of a bitch?" Kai leaned in.

"No" Grif admitted. "I just don't want any less wedding cake then what I'm already getting"

"Fat-ass!" The two heard Simmons shout from the other side of the house. They both laughed.


	2. It's Fine

Tex had settled in surprisingly well.

After Simmons had shown her the room she'd be staying in, she had instantly made it feel like home. She unpacked (which wasn't hard considering she hardly brought anything with her) and evaluated her surroundings. The room was small. It had one bed with black covers, a bedside table and some photos hung up on the wall. They looked to be of only Grif's family, not Simmons. She wondered why that was. However, she chose not to dwell on it and see how things went.

First things first, she'd be getting her own dinner. She wasn't forced to, Simmons had offered to make her something each night, but she had refused. Her reasoning being something she didn't even know. She just... sitting at a dinner table with her ex-boyfriends friends? It felt wrong. She hated the idea of even coming here in the first place. Yet, Church was very convincing. He brought up good points and she just couldn't say no to him...

" _Listen, you're homeless and hungry. If you need a place to stay I can always get Grif's help. Dude owes me a favour anyway. Just, stop trying to be 'independent' here, when you need help. I'd let you stay with me, but... Caboose gets jealous_ "

Ah, yes. Caboose. Her boyfriends new partner. Tex knew him. He was innocent enough, and as much as she had that urge to find him and get him to back off, she couldn't. She saw the way Church smiled at him. He was more happy with that guy then he had ever been with Tex. Granted, Tex never treated him that well. Always abandoning him for parties and competition despite his frustration. She regretted that now. She wished she could take it all back.

...And, that other word. _Hungry_. It wasn't entirely true. She still ate three times a day. It was just that the foods she ate weren't going to do good for her health. They were all cheap fast-foods. Not the good kind either. Sure, the tastes of the meals were tolerable, but the way the places presented themselves told her they were messy and uncleaned. Maybe even rat-infested. Tex just ignored it though. She was after all, in Church's words 'Hungry', and it was the only things she could afford at the time. It was fine. Something she had tried to convince Church. Fine.

Another thing to note about this room (Well, the house in general) was that the walls were thin. You could hear anything coming from the next room over. She had learnt this when Grif had stepped into his and Simmons room (which was right next to her room) to answer a phone call. Tex had been lying on the bed at the time. As much as she wanted to not be eavesdropping, she couldn't find herself getting up and walking away from the conversation. She was tired. Besides, she could use the entertainment.

"I'm telling you mum! I'm fine! Hasn't Ma like, told you to calm down yet or something?" She had heard Grif say. He sounded annoyed.

"Well, yeah! But... Kate's not you. We had a system, remember! Kai was outgoing, Kate was relaxed, you were lazy and I was awesome! Now we're missing two pieces of the puzzle. It's unfinished, okay?" Someone, who Tex presumed to be his mother on the phone, replied. Turns out Grif has his phone on speaker all the time because the fat-ass is so lazy that he can't even handle picking up the phone to talk to someone.

"I get that you miss me, but I'll be back! Donut wants us to be there to meet the baby after its born, remember?" Grif tried to jog her memory.

"Yeah, yeah" His mother sighed. "He comes over sometimes. Sometimes with Lopez, sometimes with his cousin. She's really nice by the way. Made me a sweater. Yet, the babies coming in three weeks. I can't wait that long!" Tex could even hear the pout in her voice. "I swear, I am so tempted to hop on a plane and get over there, just to hug you!"

"Mmhmm" Grif sounded doubtful for the statement.

"Hey, I know that tone! I so would! Nothing gets In between me and my children!" His mother replied confidently. Grif made a loud groaning noise. Tex sighed and rolled over on the bed. Like previously stated, she was tired. So, without a second thought, she drifted off to sleep.

\---

"Wake up, sleepyhead! God... you're lazier then my brother..." Tex opened her eyes to see Kai standing next to the bed, looking at her with a hint of boredom. "C'mon. My stupid brother told me to wake you. We're having bacon and eggs. Hurry up! I'm hungry!" The kid (How old was she? Nineteen? Looked like it. Though, it would be logical to say twenty-something) crossed her arms childishly.

"Right" Tex sighed, getting up. She passed Kai and walked downstairs without as much as a good morning. Then again, Kai had given her nothing as well so she had no reason to feel bad. As she entered the lounge/kitchen she saw Simmons flipping an egg with the frying pan. It smelt delicious, but Tex dared not say anything. She instead walked over to the front door and opened it slowly.

"Where are you going?" Grif's words stopped her. She turned and saw the tanned man watching her from the couch. He raised an eyebrow at her, curiously.

"Getting breakfast" Tex said sharply.

"But... we made you breakfast" Simmons reminded.

Tex felt a wave of guilt come across her, but she hid it well. Swallowing hard she stared at them for a good couple of seconds before shaking her head. "No. It's fine. I was just going to pick something up, anyway" She stated flatly. It looked as though at least one of them was going to object, so she raised a hand to shush any questioning. "It's fine" She concluded, walking out and closing the door behind her.

After doing so, she noticed something none too pleasant. It was raining. Pouring, even. She had no umbrella so she pulled out her old phone. It was barely functioning but it managed. She typed her password in and entered the home screen. It still had that stupid background of her and Church on it that she didn't have the guts to try removing. She went on her Taxi app and called one over. Of course, picking one that she knew a friend of hers would be driving.

As she waited in the rain she heard the faint sound of someone stomping their foot on the ground. "Man... you ARE such a fucking bitch"

Tex suddenly felt rather annoyed. _Kai_.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment!
> 
> God, I SUCK at writing Tex. It doesn't help that I'm not a fan of her character all that much either... and this fic is tex-centric. Grimmons-centric? Eh, i'm still deciding. Anyways, for anyone who doesn't know, this is the fic to replace Back To Hawaii since that'll be finished soon. 
> 
> I am also making a new story. I have a couple ideas. Magic AU, perhaps? So, so far I've got three stories. (Not including Back to Hawaii. Here's going to be the schedule. 
> 
> Sunday: ???  
> Monday: What Are The Chances.  
> Tuesday: New Story.  
> Wednesday: ???  
> Thursday: Inevitability  
> Friday: ???  
> Saturday: But Why Do You Love Him? 
> 
> This list is a work in progress. It might change when the new story is posted. To be honest, it probably will change. Hope you like what's to come! For anyone who's wondering, mystery marks just means that either something's coming, one shots or whatever. It might be different later, who knows? 
> 
> I hope you have a great day!
> 
> ~FanficNinja :)
> 
> (Btw, i have decided to NOT use emojis aside from the originals in protest to The Emoji Movie. They cancelled the Popeye movie which I was looking forward to, so I am going on Emoji strike! XD. Hey, maybe I could mention it in my story somewhere?)
> 
> Before I go, quick thing. This new story will be a magic AU. It'll be about the blood gulch crew moving into a town where magic users are protected and safe. I have some ideas for a title. If you wanna help me decide, go here: http://www.strawpoll.me/13034425 
> 
> Usually, I'd just ask for comments on the subject but I found out how to use Strawpoll so... :P
> 
> Anyways, just a quick shoutout to Yin and MissyAnn for their wonderful comments last chapter! Keep being awesome!


	3. Macaroni And Feels

Tex sighed and turned around. "What do you want?" Kai was glaring at her. She had no umbrella either, so in a matter of seconds her hair was dripping wet. She didn't seem to mind though. All it looked like she cared about at that moment was Tex. But, as was the norm, not in a good way. She looked furious. Almost like someone had just attacked her. Or maybe, someone close to her. With that in mind, Tex decided to bring it up. After all, the taxi was going to take a while. She needed at least something to keep her occupied. "You look like someone just attacked your family..." She said flately.

"Because someone just did bitch-face!" Kai retorted, crossing her arms. Her stern look never faltering. Tex merely stared at her. "Oh, don't act like you don't know. You're the one that did it!"

Tex shook her head. "Are you an idiot? I haven't even touched them" 

Kai looked dumbfounded for a moment before regaining her angry look. "You don't need to ' _touch_ ' someone, to attack them!" She informed. "Don't you know that?" Tex realised at that exact time this wasn't a conversation that would keep her entertained while she waited. Just one that would get her annoyed. After that realisation, she decided to turn around and face the road. Trying her hardest not to listen. "Hey! Turn around and look at me!" Kai ordered. She was trying to come off as intimidating, but it just seemed like whining. "Are you even listening to me?!"

"Listen..." Tex turned around slowly to face her once more. Her face emotionless and frankly, frustrated. "A taxi is coming to pick me up. There's a place I can go to eat around here and that's where it's taking me. It'll be here soon and if you really want to tell me what I did, I'd do it now" She said sternly.

Kai blinked before taking a step forward. She furrowed her brows. "You are such a stupid bitch! You hurt... you hurt..." She looked back at the door which lead to their house right behind them, before facing Tex again and speaking much quieter. "You hurt Simmons"

"How?" Tex asked genuinely. "I did nothing to that cock-bite"

"Yes, you did!" Kai argued.

"No. I didn't" Tex responded.

"Um, are you an idiot? Because you did!" Kai said matter-of-factly.

Tex groaned. "I am not an idiot. I'm just saying that I did nothing to hurt him. All I did was refuse his food. It's called being a good house guest. Now, he won't have to cook for me or do anything. I can just live there and he won't have to accomodate me for anything. So, he doesn't have to worry about making me _'happy'_ for the next two weeks"

"Yeah! But that's not how Rich works!" Kai told.

"Not how he... _works_?" Tex blinked. "What do you mean by-"

"Hey, Tex. You needed a ride?" The two turned and saw a Taxi pulled up in front of them. The driver being York, an old friend of Tex's. "Who's this? Brown hair, yellow shirt and nice haircut. Ah, you must be Kai. Nice to meet you..." York trailed off his introduction, upon the brunette poking her tongue out at him rudely. "Okay then... so, uh, ya coming Tex?"

Tex nodded. "Sure thing York" She smiled weakly, opening the car door and entering.

Kai scoffed. "See you later, or whatever" She said, walking away to the door of her house. Tex caught a glimpse of Kai entering the warmth of her home, which she hated to admit let her relax a little. For some reason, seeing the brunette under pouring rain made her feel bad. Maybe because she was the reason Kai was out there to begin with but...

"Hey, you alright? You look unhappy" York said, concerned.

"It's fine York" Tex replied all too coldly.

York took a deep breath. "If you say so"

\---

Kai walked back inside her house and saw Simmons setting up the kitchen table. He looked like he had just convicted himself guilty. Kai knew this would happen. That nerd always took everything as his fault, even when he really shouldn't. Especially over what had just conspired then. Kai walked up and took a seat at the table.

Simmons smiled at her but she could tell it was forced. "Here you go, Kai" He placed down a plate full of macaroni and cheese in front of her. She took a bite.

"Holy shit Simmons! This tastes fucking good!" Kai exclaimed, beginning to put more and more into her mouth. She was grinning widely.

"Hey..." Grif furrowed his brows at her, sitting down in between Kai and Simmons at the table. He began to eat his macaroni and cheese too. Giving a slight nod to Simmons to assure him he thought it was good. "Slow down" He scolded at Kai.

"Says you" She spat, pointing her fork at Grif as he ate his food just as messily as her.

Simmons snorted. "Yeah, she does have a point. That is being hypocritical"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever Sims" Grif smirked. Simmons face reddened at the nickname and he began eating in hope of covering up his blush. Grif stifled a laugh. "Fucking adorable" He commented in Kai's direction. She giggled a little. As they dug into their meal, Grif noticed the new chair that was placed on the other end of the table. "Hey, what's with the chair dude?" He asked Simmons, pointing at the irregularity. 

Simmons eyes widened and he gave a very nervous look. "That was for Tex when I thought she was coming... to eat... with us..." He informed awkwardly.

"Oh..." Grif bit his lip. "Right" He said quietly, starting to eat again. Keeping a careful eye on Simmons just in case the nerd were to silently freak out. Luckily, he did not.

They ate the rest of the meal in silence.

When dinner was over, Kai stood up from the table energetically and began running out of the kitchen and up the stairs. "Hey Sis!" Grif called out to her. "Are you eating dessert or what!?" He asked loudly. "If not, i'm eating it for you! Those are the rules, remember!?" He reminded.

"Fuck off bro!" She screamed back at him from the stairs. "Jensen told me to Skype her right about now. I won't be too long, so don't eat my fucking dessert. Rich, make sure he doesn't eat it, okay?" She instructed. Simmons nodded back at her causing Grif to make a disappointed sound.

"But i'm still hungry!" He pleaded, leaning onto Simmons.

"Well, If you're so hungry then clean the table. Then I can make you something else" Simmons informed.

"But what's the point?" Grif said dramatically. "It'll just get messy again anyway!"

"Grif" Simmons glared.

Grif glared back. "Simmons"

"Dex"

"Richard"

"Dexter!" Finally, Simmons got tired of their shenanigans and passed him the sponge and paper towels. Grif pouted and rolled his eyes, walking over to the table. "If you can hurry up, I'll make you a different... kind of dessert" Simmons smiled.

" _Different_?" Grif's head popped up like an intrigued dog. "You mean like-"

"No!? Not like that!!!" Simmons yelled, blushing heavily; already knowing what Grif was going to say. "I meant like an Ice-cream Pizza, Grif. Not... _that_ " He elaborated. "I don't w-want to do that, y-yet. You know that, o-okay?" He stuttered. "Ice-cream pizza. That's all I meant!" He basically squeaked. Grif looked sad for a moment before cheering up when he processed the words 'Ice-cream pizza'. 

"Heh" Grif shrugged, smiling brightly. "Just as good I suppose"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment! :D
> 
> Btw, if you're wondering what 'Churros - Relationship' is, I'll just say it's an already tagged ship on this story. Try and guess it if you can in the comments!
> 
> Thanks Yin, Missyann for commenting! It really makes my day! :D


	4. Chapter 4; Just Play Pretend

Tex almost forced herself to take the last bite of the burger.

It was cold and tasted horrible. Not to mention the fact that they got her order wrong. She sighed. "You alright?" Yorks voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him and nodded. "You don't have to lie to me, y'know" He rolled his eyes. "If you don't like the food, you can say. I'm just eating it because of the cute waitress" He stated, eyeing the red head delivering orders to their left.

Tex groaned. "Of course..." She grumbled. "Carolina"

"Hey. Don't act like i'm the only one pining for someone. What about Church?" He questioned her.

Tex clenched her fists. "Church just needs to come to his senses, Carolina isn't interested" She informed dryly. York shook his head, a quiet laugh escaping his lips. "What is it, cockbite?" She asked sternly.

York froze. "Well, um... heres the thing..." He tried to sound confident, but it was coming off as nervous. Tex had that effect on people.  "I think-and i'm pretty sure you know this too-that Church was interested in you. But, kinda... drifted away. With how you treated him and everything" He said awkwardly. Tex stiffened at his words. "And then found someone else?"

Tex took a deep breath. "I know" She agreed sadly. "I was a total bitch. I just hate... thinking about it. What could of been" She reminisced. "Look at me. Queen bitch and i'm acting like i'm in a fucking Sit-com" She said crossing her arms, clearly frustrated.

"Okay, now that you've said that... i don't think i wanna show you anymore" He told, chuckling lightly.

"Show me what?" Tex raised an eyebrow at him.

'"U-uh..." York gave a weak smile. "It's not important"

"Listen, cockbite. You cant just say shit like that and not follow through. What the fuck were you going to show me?" She quizzed him. Gaze intimidating.

York felt himself shrink in his seat. "You won't like it"

"Show. Me" Tex demanded.

York sighed and pulled out his phone. He entered an app and turned around his phone, revealing a video starting. Tex watched intently. Suddenly, the screen showed Tucker, no doubt holding what was being used to record. "Okay  so... i think it's recording? Dude, this is gonna be fucking sweet!" He gave a big grin. Wash walked up behind him. "What do you think, dude?"

"Hold on" Tex looked confused. "When did Wash start hanging out with the idiots?"

"Oh" York bit his lip. "Kinda straight after you left. It's... not important" He urged. Tex didn't seem to believe him, as she raised her eyebrow skeptically. York noticed and sweat slid down his forehead. "Listen, Allison-"

"Tex" She glared daggers at him.

"R-right" York choked. "I'm... yeah, i can't show you this" He sighed, putting his phone back into his pocket. Tex looked infuriated, yet York still chose to hold his ground. "Not when you're still acting like this. We're-I'm here for you, okay? You keep acting like the tough, bad-ass, always gets what she wants, kind of bitch that you were in high school when you're-" He paused. "Not" He told. "...Anymore"

"York. Please..." Tex took a deep breath. "Can't i just fucking pretend for once?"

"W-what?" York blinked.

"Everyone else in high school pretended to be something they weren't. Church was a quote on quote 'asshole', Tucker was a ladies man, Sarge was some military persona and all of that shit. They were just pretending. They weren't actually any of that stuff" She said flatly, resting her head on the table inbetween them. Keeping herself comfortable by her arms which she was using to pillow her face from the cold surface. "Can't i just pretend a little fucking longer?"

York avoided eye contact with her. "Y-yeah, but... for how long?"

"As long as it takes, York" She stated, standing up. "Just for these problems to fuck off"

"Okay, i understand that. Kind of. Yet, just know that your problems aren't the worst, okay?" He assured. Tex didn't even look at him. "I know the gang might seem like idiots but they have problems too. You're staying with some, after all" He chuckled lightly. "And... believe it or not, they're going through some nasty shit too"

"Like what?" Tex snarled at him.

York looked taken aback. "They haven't told you..? To be fair, you weren't always the nicest to them back in-"

"No-one was, York. I had to. Just so i could maintain what i had. That was the one mistake Church made" She said coldly. "He was the Alpha-Dog of our little group and he left it just to punch Maine in the... throat" Even after hearing it so many times before, the story becoming a 'legend' in high school, York still grimaced. "...When he made a rude remark about some low-level teens who lack the basic intelligence to function" She scolded.

"Is that really how you see them?" York muttered. Tex stayed silent. He rolled his eyes. "I thought so"

"Hey" Tex stared at him directly in the eyes. Her gaze never faltering. "Thats how you saw them too"

York huffed. "But then i changed"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad chapter, i know. I had to post something! Its been forever! :D Still, i hope you guys like it. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment!


	5. Chapter Five, Bad Day

Tex walked up to Grif and Simmons house. She was stomping through deep puddles (the rain that had been going on since the morning hadn’t relented once) with a scowl on her face. The conversation she had shared with York had been far from pleasant. All she wanted to do now was go inside and take a nap.

However, when she got to the houses door she noticed something was... off. She heard someone screaming. They sounded angry-no, enraged at whoever they were talking to. She pressed an ear against the door to listen further.

“Can you stop being an ass-hole for one minute!? You can’t do anything, okay!?”

Okay, that was weird. The voice had been Grif. Were him and Simmons having a fight? If they were, it sounded like a pretty nasty one. Tex cautiously opened the front door with her key and creeped inside. She tried not to make a sound, as she wanted to know what was going on.

To her surprise, Simmons was sitting on the couch. His head was in his hands and it looked like he was quietly sobbing. Even more surprisingly, Grif wasn’t yelling at Simmons. He was yelling to someone over the phone. Tex couldn’t help but be intrigued by the whole scene. She knew she shouldn’t listen in, but she couldn’t help it. Something had to explain this situation to her.

“No, you shut up!” Grif said, presumably cutting off the person on the other line. “We are not gonna listen to you, okay!? So stop calling! You have no right to do this to him!” The Hawaiian screamed. There was a pause. “Ugh, you keep doing that same threat, but it is not gonna work! Why? Maybe because his professors are fucking proud of him! Something you never were!” He finished off, hanging up. He placed the phone on the bedside table and took a deep breath.

Simmons sniffed. “D-do you think he’s gonna... be able to do it...?”

Grif shook his head. “No. Remember what Kimball said Sims. She wants you to be there. He can’t do shit” He stated.

Simmons didn’t seem convinced. “If you say so...”

There was a long silence until Grif spoke up again.

“What are you doing here?”

It took a couple seconds for Tex to register Grif was talking to her.

She rolled her eyes. “Nothing cock-bite. I just came back from-“

“You were gone all day” Grif furrowed his brows at her. “Do you realise that?” Tex merely stared back at him. Was the fat-ass actually being... intimidating? “What were you even doing?” He questioned her.

“I went to get food” She said through gritted teeth. She did not want to be doing this right now...

“Yeah?” Grif raised an eyebrow. “I thought Simmons made you food”

“Dex.” Simmons voice was a whisper. He seemed to want Grif to stop.

“Seriously, Tex. Why not eat what he made for you?” Grif didn’t. He instead, kept going. Tex couldn’t tell if that was because he didn’t hear Simmons, or was just ignoring him.

Tex didn’t care if it was either one though, because personally, she was getting really fed up. This had already been a pretty bad day. If it got any worse she would have half a mind to punch Grif’s lights out. Heck, she didn’t know why she hadn’t done it already. Perhaps because Simmons was there, but she doubted it.

“I was getting food” She finally replied, voice cold.  

  
“Hey, really? No, Tex. Seriously, what was the real reason you didn’t want Simmons food?”

“Dexter...” Simmons voice was a little louder this time.

“Uh, maybe because I am a good fucking house guest and didn’t want to be too much of a hassle?” She told bitterly.

“Oh, yeah? Well you’re being one right now!”

“Dex, stop” Simmons warned.

“Oh, am I? Well why don’t I just leave?” She retorted sharply. “I’m sure Church won’t mind”

“Yeah, he won’t! He said something like this might happen and if it did we could kick you out on the streets. He didn’t give you a fucking new house Tex, he gave you one more fucking chance!”

“DEX, STOP!” Simmons stood up from the couch. The room became dead quiet.

“Simmons...” Grif avoided eye contact, clearly aware of his mistake.

“Grif, please” Simmons eyes were wet with tears and his cheeks were puffy and red. Tex couldn’t help but ponder further what that phone call was about. “I get that you are really on edge from...” Simmons paused as he eyed Tex. “...the call... but you need to calm down. Let’s just go to bed, okay? I think we all need it” He advised, carefully.

Grif thought about it for a minute before nodding.

Tex took this as her time to leave. She began to walk away, before the phone rang again. She stopped in her tracks. She gave them a quick glance. She noticed Simmons tense up and Grif’s frown deepening. With a fast movement, the Hawaiian picked up the phone and put it up to his ear. He looked like he was about to kill someone. “WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW!?”

There was a slight pause before Grif sighed and rubbed his Temple. “Sorry, Donut. I uh, thought you were somebody else. Yeah, yeah. It was him... listen can we not talk about this right now? Thanks” Simmons shoulders relaxed a little and Grif’s anger cooled. “Anyways, hows the baby?” Grif asked quietly. “Good, Good”

And with that, Tex continued to leave.

—

Tex woke up to the sound of talking outside. Again, her walls were really thin. A part of her really wanted to complain but the words never quite took off. She blamed Grif. What did he mean Church didn’t care if they kicked her out? Sure, it made sense. She hadn’t been the nicest person to him in the past but still... he had promised her otherwise. Did Church just give her this for another chance? What did Grif mean by another chance anyways? Could he have meant dating her again?

No, he was dating Caboose now. Tex knew he loved him more then he ever had with her. But, just maybe...

“Ooh, what’s in here?”

Tex’s thoughts were interrupted by an annoyingly perky voice coming from just outside her door. The door knob began to turn and she heard Grif try to protest but before she knew it someone was in her room. Hold on, not just someone. She knew this person. Unfortunately, her memory was failing her right now.

Judging by the persons face however, he clearly remembered her. “Oh, I forgot she was staying here. Y’know, you really should’ve warned me Grif! She could’ve been sleeping and I would’ve just woken her up. Now that would just be plain rude!” The person said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms.

“I did try to warn you, Donut” Grif retorted, looking annoyed. “You just didn’t listen” He stated.

Tex’s eyes widened. Ah, Donut. Now she remembered him. She instinctively cringed.

“Oh, c’mon Grif. You know hardly anything gets through that ear anyway” He said, placing a hand on his hip.

“Uh... right. Sorry, forgot. Hey, wanna head back over to the kitchen?” Donut shrugged before nodding. Grif sighed and placed a hand on the mans shoulder, leading him away and out of Tex’s room. She was thankful, but it seemed like Grif was doing it for Donuts benefit more than hers.

With a deep breath, Tex got out of bed and walked out after them. She was already in her clothes after all, having not changed due to just collapsing on her bed as soon as she got to it. She knew Grif wouldn’t like her joining them, but she didn’t care. She could spend so many minutes staring at the guest rooms ceiling after all.

She made it into the lounge room to see Donut sitting on the couch babbling on to Grif over some things. Lopez was using the coffeemaker in the kitchen area behind them, no doubt making one for Donut. She sat next to Donut on the couch, causing Grif to flinch. Donut however, didn’t care and pressed forward with his conversation.

“You look so much better, Grif!” Donut complimented. “Not saying you were ugly or anything but look at you! I can barely recognise that your the same guy!” He smiled, putting an arm around around Grif. Lopez shot him a dark glare causing Donut to backtrack and roll his eyes. “Sorry, sheesh. He can get so jealous”

Tex raised an eyebrow. Jealous? All they did was... wait a minute. “Hold on a second” Tex intervened into the conversation, causing Grif to groan. “Are you two dating?” She asked in utter disbelief.

“Si” Lopez replied as he walked away from the kitchen area; now with a pink mug full of coffee in his hand. He walked up to Donut and rudely sat in-between him and Grif. He passed the blonde his coffee, who accepted it graciously.

“Thank you LoLo” Donut grinned, taking a sip of his coffee. He then turned over to Tex. “And yes, we are. In fact, were married! Even having a baby soon...” He practically sang, showing off his ring to Tex. She gave a slight smile but it became a frown just as quickly as it had appeared. Donut paid no mind though and looked over at Grif once more. “Hey Grif... where’s Simmons? I didn’t come here to just see one of you guys! And now that I think of it, where’s your sister as well?” Donut pouted. “Did I come at a bad time?”

“Oh, nah” Grif shook his head. “Kai’s in her room doing something for you guys and Simmons is still asleep. I figured I wouldn’t wake up. He hasn’t got much sleep since...” The Hawaiian paused. “Um...” He struggled for his words.

Donut gave a comforting smile. “It’s okay, Grif. We know. You don’t have to tell us”

Lopez nodded. “Y de cualquier forma, entendemos” He said truthfully, making Tex confused. His usually monotone voice sounded strangely sympathetic. It was an emotion Tex had never heard the brunette display. It was odd. What were they even talking about? It had to be important if even Lopez seemed to care.

Bringing Tex’s attention back to the discussion was Donut, who gave her a wide grin. “So, Tex... how have you been?” He questioned. “Everything alright here? I mean, it’s not doing anything anything for you with it’s interior decorating but still, it must be nice. After all, Simmons is a great cook” Donut gave a thumbs up.

Tex bit her lip before shrugging. “Sure”

“Oh bullshit” Grif called her out, causing Tex to almost deflate. She had never felt that way before, and she never would have guessed it would’ve been by Grif’s hands. “You haven’t had anything since we got here! You always go out to get fast foods and don’t give a crap about Dick!”

It took a couple of seconds for Tex to process Simmons first name (they did hardly say it) but when she did she furrowed her brows at him. “Sorry for not being a hassle. Surely, i am the fucking worse” She said sarcastically, making Grif’s anger only grow.

However, before he could snap at her they heard a familiar voice from the hallway. “I thought I told you that’s not how Rich works”

It was Kai. She walked into the lounge room with a box wrapped in pink paper and topped off with a brown ribbon. She walked up to Donut and Lopez and presented it to them. “Sup bitches! I got you the best fucking gift ever for your baby. You better be happy” She sounded enthusiastic, but to Tex it came off as brash. She figured no one else took it that way though because Donut was thrilled with the present.

“Oh, it’s so cute! Look, LoLo” He smirked at his partner. “It’s even lightish red. My favourite!”

“Es claramente rosado” Lopez returned bluntly.

Donut simply replied with a smile and a sweet roll of the eyes before taking the gift away from Kai. “I wonder what it is! Is it something for the baby? Or what you usually send us?” He asked her curiously.

Grif stared at him. “Wait. What does my sis usually send you?”

“Nothing family friendly, really” Donut informed. “Though, it is fun” He winked at Lopez, causing the typically emotionless man to sink back into his chair with embarrassment.

Grif grumbled with worry. “Sis, pleeeeaaaasssseeee tell me you don’t send Jensen anything like that..” He said, desperate for a no.

She shrugged dismissively. “No. Katie isn’t into any shit like that” She told Grif. He took a breath of relief. “Well, I mean, sometimes she-“

“Nope, nope, nope, nope!” Grif waved his hands around in the air to gain attention, hoping to stop where this conversation was leading. “We are not talking about my sister’s sex life” He said, putting his foot down.

“Aw” Kai pouted.

“Way to be a downer, Grif” Donut said, disappointedly.

“NO me digas que estas realmente interesado en eso” Lopez raised an eyebrow at him, a tad concerned.

“I just wanna catch up with them, Lo” Donut said, nudging him playfully. “After all, I haven’t seen them in ages. I want to know everything. If I didn’t know everything about my friends, what kind of friend would I be?” Donut frowned. “A bad friend! That’s what! And how would I...” The blonde paused, giving off a dramatic gasp. Though, it didn’t seem at all forced.

It was pretty genuine for whatever it was about.

Tex realised he wasn’t even looking at Lopez anymore. He was looking towards the hallway. The group turned to see what it was about; Kai even putting her present down on the coffee table to see what all the fuss was about.

Upon further inspection, the ‘fuss’ was Simmons.

He was standing in the hallway wearing a typical nerd shirt and pants. His red hair was messy and his green eyes were wide. It was at this moment Tex realised something. She knew everything about how Grif and Simmons re-united (Church had told her. Apparently, Caboose just loved the story) but no where in that story had Donut and Simmons ever met again. That only met one thing. This was the first time Donut had seen Simmons, face to face, in years. How long was a mystery since she’d never been told, but it had to have been over two years.

Wordlessly, Donut stepped up off the couch and walked up to Simmons. It was almost like time was frozen and the only thing moving was Donut and if it counted, Simmons nervous breathing. Before Simmons could even react properly, Donut leant in and gave Simmons a tight hug. There was a quietness between them. After a long minute that felt like hours,Simmons slowly began to hug him back. Grif gave a slight smile from where he was sitting, as did Lopez. Tex unknowingly, began to do so as well.

“I missed you so much, Simmons” Donut said quietly. With a deep breath, he backed away a little with both hands placed on Simmons shoulders. “How’ve you been? Hopefully not having too much fun without us, right?”

Simmons shook his head lightly. “N-no. Not too much. You?”

“A little bit” He said, reaching into his pockets. He pulled out some photos and showed them to Simmons. “We got the baby photos!” He revealed with that infectious smile of his. Simmons couldn’t help but give a weak smile in return.

Grif’s jaw dropped. “Hold on, you had that the whole time? Why didn’t you show me and Kai?”

“I was just waiting to show Simmons first! But do not worry...” He assured, skipping over to where Grif was and handing him one. “Isn’t he cute?”

“H-he?” Simmons eyes lit up. “You’re having a boy?”

Donut covered his mouth. “Oops” He laughed a little. “Yep. We can’t decide on a name, though. We have been considering Valentino. After all, i am the matchmaking genius!” He proclaimed, making Lopez face palm in response. “What do you think?”

“I... I think it’s lovely...” Simmons said with tears in his eyes, still smiling nonetheless.

“Aw, Simmons!” Donut came over and put an arm around the red-heads shoulder. “You don’t need to cry. We can finally catch up!”

“I just don’t understand...” Simmons said through light sobs. “...why are you here?”

“Well, me and LoLo here, say hi Lo” Lopez gave a light wave from the couch. “Realised that we would have to wait another few years to visit your house once we had our kid, so we figured... why not just visit now? You’re... you’re not upset, are you?”

“N-no! Of course not!” Simmons urged. “I’m just surprised” He admitted. Suddenly, Simmons looked annoyed. “Grif!” The Hawaiian man glanced up as the red-head addressed him. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Dude, you were tired” Grif reminded. “You haven’t had any good sleep in forever. I wasn’t going to pass up your big chance, okay?” He said honestly, causing Simmons to shrink down.

“Oh, uh, Sorry Grif. I’m just-Wait, hold on...” Simmons turned back over to Donut. “Why didn’t you wait three weeks? We’d have seen each other then, y’know” He stated.

Donut chuckled lightly. “I know. But then I wouldn’t have seen your house” He said happily.

“Wait” Tex stared at them, quizzically. “What’s happening in three weeks?”

“Uh, bitch... don’t you know anything?” Kai asked, rolling her eyes.

“La noticia ha estado fuera por semanas” Lopez said flatly. “Es tu amante perdido y los idiotas azules el día de la boda”

Tex didn’t understand Spanish, so she turned to the others for support. Simmons and Grif gave each other worried glances. Luckily for them, it was Donut who decided to take the bullet and tell her. “It is Cabooses and Church’s wedding. Didn’t anyone tell you?”

Tex felt her world collapse around her. Church... and Cabooses... wedding..? Any shot she had of her and Church setting aside all of her mistakes and getting back together were instantly dashed. Deleted. Erased from ever happening. All because of that stupid, childish man. She wanted to be mad at him, but she couldn’t. Caboose was a nice guy. Yet, still...that didn’t stop the sickness she felt in her stomach all of a sudden.

“P-Prove it” Tex muttered, taking Donut aback. She sounded challenging.

“W-What? W-what do...” The blonde stammered worriedly.

“I said, prove it” She repeated, much more sternly then the last time. Donut sighed and pulled out his phone. After a couple seconds, he turned it around. On the screen was Tucker, talking to the camera. This was all familiar. This was... what York was going to show her before she snapped. Though it was clearly a little bit more into the video (as in, fast-forwarded) it was still the same one. Tex could tell.

“ _Dude. Are you ready?” Tucker said, holding the camera and looking over at Church._

_The man in question was wearing a fancy suit alongside a cobalt tie. He looked rather handsome, despite his hair still being fashionably messy. Suddenly, Church shook his head. “Nope” He said, sweating. He was definitely nervous._

_“Well, of course not. You could be marrying Caboose after all” Tucker teased, receiving an off-screen (“Tucker.”) from Washington. “Alright, alright, all jokes aside...” There was a quick pause. “You got the ring?” Tucker questioned, his face feigning concern._

_Church reached into his pockets. “Uh, duh. Of course I brought the ri-oh, SHit! Where’s the ring!” Realisation dawned on Church’s face when he saw Tucker’s smug face. “Tucker!” He grumbled._

_“Okay, maybe not all jokes set aside...” Tucker relented, laughing. He passed the ring over to Church who glared at him endlessly. “Hey, don’t be like that. At least you’re not proposing to Tex” Tucker offered, attempting to be helpful._

_Church took a deep breath. “Yeah. I guess that’s true”_

What... Tex was dead in her tracks. Church hadn’t defended her. She knew she didn’t deserve it, but it still hurt. Anything regarding Church nowadays hurt.

“ _C’mon Tucker. Tex wasn’t that bad. She meant... well..?” Wash insisted, though the own questioning in his tone didn’t help him._

_“Meant well?” Tucker scoffed. “Dude, do you not realise how much she bullied us in high school? Heck, I don’t think Grif can even have kids anymore because of how much she’s kicked him there” He quipped, earning shy laughter from Wash._

_“Yeah. I guess that’s true. She was a total shit-fa-“_

The dialogue became a scrambled mess as Donut fast forwarded the video. “Not getting to the point fast enough” He told, but it was clear the real reason he was skipping ahead. They were all talking crap about Tex.

Finally, he stopped speeding up and the video continued. This time the video was a little blurry, and seemed to be being filmed from a long distance. Though it was hard to make it out completely, Tex could see it was a fancy outdoor restaurant. The two people at the centre of the shot were sat at a table. One with black straight hair whilst the other; brown and curly... yet strangely, still a mess. Tex identified them instantly as if it were a trademark. Church and Caboose.

_Without another second to waste, Church spoke up. “Okay, so... Caboose... there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you-“_

_“Ooh! What is it, Church!” Caboose was practically bouncing up and down in his seat. He didn’t need to know what was happening to be excited. That was just the Caboose way. Suddenly, the brunette gasped. He leaned forward. “Did you sneak Freckles in here?”_

_“What? No!” Church groaned. “For the last time, they don’t allow dogs in here Caboose” He reminded impatiently._

_“But what if we bribed them. I have cookies” Caboose said, in the loudest whisper voice Tex had ever heard._

_“You didn’t actually bring cookies just to do that, did you?” Church asked deadpanned, not expecting an answer. He was met with Cabooses eyes darting left and right suspiciously. “Oh my ******* god. You did, didn’t you?” Church couldn’t contain his laughter._

_“Shhhh” Caboose pleaded. “It’s a secret!”_

_“Right... right....” Church smiled. “Listen, uh, Caboose... I don’t think the waiters or whatever will take your cookies” He told, causing Caboose to pout. “But, speaking of waiters... excuse me! Over here!” He waved over to a familiar looking female waiter. She had red hair in a ponytail and striking green eyes. “One chocolate milkshake please” He requested. The waiter nodded and walked off._

_“Hey, no fair Church!” Caboose crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue. “You didn’t let me get any more sweets!”_

_“Last time I gave you more sugar then you could handle you were basically walking on walls” Church stated flatly._

_Caboose bit his lip. “No, I wasn’t” He denied._

_“You broke my kitchen. Somehow. The entire f****** kitchen. To this day I don’t know how. I just came home and it was gone” Church retorted, still angry over the incident. Caboose tried his best to look innocent over the statement, and was failing miserable._

_After a couple minutes, the waiter was back. Caboose stared at her as she dropped off their food and left. “Church?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“That waiter looks like your sister” He told._

_Church’s eyes widened. “What? No! I-it’s Uh... just some random girl!” He objected._

_Caboose blinked. “Wait, so...” He covered his mouth. “Is it a clone..?”_

_Church facepalmed. “Sure, it’s a clone”_   
_“Do you think they accept cookies as bribery?” Caboose asked, a small smile creeping up on his lips._

_Church chuckled. “No, dude. No” Caboose visibly deflated. “But, hey. There is something I do wanna show you”_

And with that, Tex knew her life was over. Church began to kneel down, and was reaching into his pocket. Caboose tilted his head to the side. The brunette was completely oblivious to what was about to go down. Tex felt a shiver go down her spine. She heard Church begin to ask the very important question. Her breathing escalated. But then, she stopped. The ring. It was all out in the open... and something was wrong with it. When the realisation came to her, she froze.

“It’s the same one” She choked out.

“The same one as what?” Simmons asked her.

Tex could’ve done something a little more civil after that. She really could’ve. Should’ve, actually. But her thoughts were racing and her mind couldn’t think properly. In mere moments, Donuts face morphed into Church’s. The phone he was holding became that obnoxious ring. Tex couldn’t control herself. She wasn’t glad to see him again. Not at all. She knew what she saw, and that was unacceptable. At least to her.

Without a second thought (which she really could’ve needed) she lunged forward at Church. Her fist colliding with his face. The man fell to the ground, as did the ring, of which the screen shattered upon impact. Tex’s shoulders tensed. The... screen? Not a ring. Suddenly, her eyes stopped playing tricks on her, her mind stopped buzzing and voices of worry filled the air. She had just... oh god.

Donut was on the floor. He looked in pain. After all, Tex did pack quite a punch. Something she wasn’t all too proud of right now. Simmons looked to be frightened, and tears were welling in his eyes. It took her a couple of seconds to realise he was having a panic attack. Kai was glaring daggers at her, her fists clenched with unfiltered rage. Grif was resting a hand on Simmons shoulder, trying to comfort him, but his eyes focused solely on Donut.

And... Lopez.

Lopez.

Before Tex could focus any more, she was knocked to the ground.

And her vision went pure black.

 

 


	6. Memories Of Future Past

Being nice was much harder then it looked.

You couldn’t just work up the urge to be kind to someone. You had to honestly feel that they deserved it, and that required some presumptuous effort. Which, for as long as he could remember, was what Donut always prided himself on; that he was the loveliest person to about  
anyone and everyone. Even the jerks... to a certain extent.

And back in high school? Donut had been quite popular. So, it was rare for him to ever come into contacts with jerks. After all, everybody loved him! And he loved them too, because why wouldn’t he? Friends are friends, after all.

And that belief remained with him until his second to last year of high school. The school was losing money at that time, and in a scared attempt to regain their financial stability they merged with another less fortunate school. A certain ‘Freelancer Academy’. It was run by some reclusive headmaster and a counsellor with horror stories surrounding him. Everyone was, of course, nervous. But Donut chose to stay optimistic! Trekking on with the simple thought of; What could possibly go wrong?

Everything. Everything could go wrong.

Because as it goes, there was a group of kids from this school that started off their days by taking on a particular bully status. And Donut wasn’t happy with them, obviously, but chose not to intervene. But when they started bullying Donuts closest friends, there was no way he was going to let that slide! So, with Lopez by his side, he confronted them. And things didn’t go as he’d imagined them to go, that’s for sure...

In his diary he had written words of hope. Hope that they would listen to him and soon enough, become friends with him as well. But they didn’t. Why would they? Because that would’ve been the sweet thing to do.

Instead, Tex (the leader of their little group) outed him in front of everyone. And, honestly? That would’ve been fine on it’s own. Donut was extremely proud of his sexuality in truth, much more then Simmons and/or Doc was anyways. So, what caught him off guard then? Well, it was what followed that made him tear up on the spot;

(“Listen, cock-bite. My friends and I aren’t stupid. Think we don’t see it, huh? That guy, the one behind you. Lopez” She paused, crossing her arms in an almost bored manner. “You have a crush on him, don’t you?”

Donut froze. “E-Excuse me?”

Lopez’s expression didn’t change once. “Eso no es cierto. Dile, Franklin” He told, waiting patiently for a reply. When there was none, he seemed confused. Donut just looked down at the ground, ashamed. He deserved this, he shouldn’t have expected to remain quiet about his feelings. It was poor Lopez who didn’t need this attention. And yet here he was, all because of the fact that Donut had made him tag along.

“But- but Lopez is a man. Is Donut gay?” A shocked voice rang out. Donuts head snapped upwards. Everyone had been watching him. They’d all heard that.

He saw a table of people giving him disgusted glances and another merely looking confused. He caught sight of some people eyeing his usual table, of which everyone on it was responding differently. Most of them (Grif, Tucker, Kai) were acting casual, like nothing was different. And truthfully, it wasn’t for them. They’d already known he was gay, and that he had a gigantic crush on Lopez. The others however, (Simmons, Doc) shied under the vicious stares. They never liked attention, the poor things.

“Hold on, men” Sarge suddenly called, stomping into the room. He attended the school two years ago and was a friend of Donuts. He was older than the rest of them, but he didn’t leave despite graduating. He became a teacher in training instead. “What’s goin’ on in here?” He asked with his thick southern accent.

“Donuts gay!” A far too chirpy voice proclaimed.

Another person nodded. “And has a crush on Lopez!”

Sarges eyes widened. “Ah, I see” He hummed in thought. “And that should effect you dirtbags, how?” No one replied. “Figured. Now, get back to eating!” He ordered loudly. Everyone rapidly went back to scoffing their food down, ignoring Sarges angered gaze. The freelancers did this as well, albeit reluctantly. This just left Donut and Lopez in the middle of the cafeteria, standing awkwardly. After a few painful seconds, Donut couldn’t take it any longer and ran out of the room. The cafeteria doors slammed behind him.

“Franklin, está bien!” Lopez called out. He soon sighed and turned back to face Sarge. “Uh, ¿por qué ese idiota rosado no lo negaría? Eso solo le costó toda su reputación”

Sarge simply shook his head. “Because Donut doesn’t like to lie, son”

There was a brief silence. Lopez’s face paled. “¿Qué?” He jumped in realisation. “Debo ir tras él” He said, faces contorting into a stern look. Sarge replied with a short nod. It was at this point that Lopez followed after him, the cafeteria doors shutting once more. The next couple of minutes were to be filled with hugs, confessions, kisses and lots of crying with comfort. The start of something surprisingly good, that birthed itself from a terrible experience. A rare occurrence, to be known.)

...And funnily enough, if it wasn’t for bullies, Donut and Lopez may have never ended up together. Which was a weird thought, honestly. Because every time Donut woke up, seeing Lopez’s face briefly lit by the window shudders, he couldn’t imagine any other path that could’ve been taken. ‘Call him a helpless romantic, but Donut never saw a future without Lopez by his side. ‘Call it a coincidence if you will, but Lopez felt the exact same way.

And maybe that was why even with all the hurt that Tex had caused, he was so open to giving her another chance. Because without her, he wouldn’t have had Lopez. And that terrified him to be honest. It terrified him so much. He was so thankful towards her, in a strange little way. How she had, unintentionally, played a huge part in their happiness. And now, they were having a baby! A small little ‘Valentino’. They couldn’t be happier, really.

Maybe that was why, when Tex had expressed confusion in their strong relationship, Donut had been upset. She had forgotten all about it, even though it was obvious in high school. They held hands, kissed each other and constantly gave each other gifts. How could she possibly have forgotten? Probably due to how bad she was with love, Church being a major example.

Speaking of Church, it was him getting married that had started all of this (Don’t get Donut wrong. He was happy for them, ecstatic even. Aside from him and Lopez, Church and Caboose were the ideal couple) and it wasn’t because of them dating. It was mainly due to the fact that he didn’t tell Tex he was getting married. Which, when you account for the fact that she was staying with people who were going, was just a terrible idea overall. But Church was never good with consequences. What happened with Maine proved that.

Donut was honestly still surprised that Grif was simply okay with Tex joining them. Especially considering that Simmons was her easiest prey back in the day. Yep, she targeted him like it was nobodies business! And sadly enough, Donut doesn’t think she remembers that either. She may remember bullying them, but her particular choices? Nope. That memories probably completely gone. Because that’s how Tex was. She thought everything was so tiny that repercussions were not in order for half the things she did. If it was horrendous, then yeah. She’d account. But it wasn’t like the headmaster would allow her to be properly punished. He was much more lenient towards her crimes.

Nobody knows why. Everybody hated it.

But this wasn’t school, was it? This was real life. Away from the silliness of the headmaster and the unfairness of the situation. Here, she could be properly punished. Donut had not initiated anything. She had been the one to snap, truly. And if Donut knew Lopez (which he did, quite well) then he knew that he might consider involving authorities. Donut definitely would want that if it wasn’t for Simmons. That would leave the red-head stressed, and who knows how Church would react. Badly, for sure.

Yet, the idea was certainly nice. But not as nice as Donut, which sometimes the blonde hated. He just wished he could be mean. Or less nice, more like. Then, he could hate Tex. And then, he could actually defend his friends in a psychical manner instead of trying to talk them down like a chump. He was sick of how people treated his friends.

As Donuts vision finally began to focus on things, he noted how he was wrapped up in a light-ish red blanket. Someone was pressing an ice-pack to his eye, undoubtedly Lopez. “Descansa, mi pequeño churro” The spanish male instructed softly.

“I can’t believe she did that” Donut said, sighing. “What a bitch!” He poked out his tongue, almost childishly.

Lopez grumbled. He muttered something cold under his breath, but Donut didn’t quite catch what it was. There was then a brief silence as the man turned back to face Donut, his brown hair messy and far off from its usual neat state. “Grif y Simmons han salido a comprar comestibles. Tex está dormido en el sofá; ella es inconsciente” He said with a slight smirk.

“Oh” Donut pursed his lips together. “I’m surprised nobodies watching her. After all, what if she goes out of control again? It just felt wrong having a woman get all inside me like that” He told with a wave of the hand.

“Uno, Kaikaina la está mirando” Lopez informed. He began eyeing Donut confusedly. “Y dos, eso no tiene ningún sentido. Ella no se metió dentro de ti. A menos que lo hiciera ... lo cual sería otra razón para que la odie” He added as his fist clenched by his side, the other hand pulling away the ice-pack as he examined it for a moment.

Donut merely watched him and giggled. “You know you’re the only one for me, Lopez!” He said, winking. “Ow!” He suddenly yelped, reaching for his eye. Lopez shooed his hand away, his defensive nature kicking in.

“Franklin.” He began. “No te preocupes por eso por el momento. Quédese quieto, o le dolerá más” He urged calmly.

Donut nodded weakly. “Sorry, hun”

Lopez pressed the ice-pack back onto Donuts eye, watching as the man cringed in response. He always hated it when Donut was hurt. There was a certain innocence to him, despite his innuendos. He didn’t deserve this. And yet, Tex hadn’t cared. She had decided to punch Donut right in the face. Lopez did not care for her reasoning. He was just mad.

After all, he wasn’t like Donut. He was nice when he wanted to be. He didn’t feel the obligation to make up for people’s shortcomings by making ridiculous presumptions. (“Ella besa a todos los hombres en la escuela”/“Oh, I’m sure she’s just looking for the one!) and (“Ese hombre usa demasiado gel para el cabello”/“Hush, Lo. I’m sure he’s just insecure”) were conversations he’d have with Donut regularly. And the blonde was almost never right.

Well, sometimes...

_They passed a guy standing by the lockers. He was struggling to open his, anxiously fumbling with the key. “Come on, come on... not today!” The man pleaded quietly to himself. “Dads gonna be so pissed. Don’t fucking-“ The key snapped in the lock, randomly breaking in two. The mans eyes widened. He fell to his knees as tears threatened to spill. “He’s gonna be so mad...”_

_Lopez looked over at Donut with a sour expression. “La llave acaba de romperse. No es el fin del mundo” He murmured flatly._

_Donut shook his head. “Nah, Lopez. Sometimes that can be the end of the world. Sometimes, parents aren’t as forgiving as ours. Sometimes, they’re bad people...” He told solemnly. Lopez arched an eyebrow as the blonde stopped in place, pulling out a hair clip. “...but luckily, they’re are good people out there to assist!” He smirked, rushing off to help the individual._

_Lopez watched as he passed it to him. The man accepted it gratefully. “Thanks, man. Um, what’s your name?” He asked with a grin._

_“Franklin Delano Donut” The blonde replied perkily. “And you are?” The man paused, offering his hand slowly. Donut shook it just as quickly as it had been suggested._

_The teen smiled at his optimism as he chuckled soundly. “My names Leonard. Uh, mister Leonard Church”_

—

Grif pushed the shopping cart around lazily, stopping as Simmons began to look at the stacks of milk cartons. He gazed over at Grif with a puzzled look. “Do we have enough milk, Grif?” The red-head asked, his freckles slightly aglow by the lights coming from the fridge the milks were being stored in.

Grif hummed in feigned concentration, his eyes fixated on Simmons features. “Yes.” He finally said.

“And you’re sure?” Simmons questioned with a scowl. “This isn’t you just trying to get more food?” He muttered frustratingly.

“No, it’s not” Grif denied. Simmons smiled, taking a carton of milk off the shelves and plopping inside the cart. “But hey, if we end up with twice as many milkshakes as usual that’s on you. And if anything, something to be proud of” The Hawaiian added cheekily. Simmons groaned, taking the carton of milk back out, much to Grif’s protest. He placed it back where it was carefully. Grif blew a raspberry at him.

“Don’t be immature, Grif” Simmons urged. “At least, not in public”

“So you want me to be immature at home?” Grif said with a sly smile. “Got ya” He said, showcasing finger guns at Simmons. The redhead rolled his eyes sweetly. They then continued their walk as they trekked through the isles. The supermarket was mostly empty and the only constant sound was the wheels of the trolley turning. It was oddly relaxing.

“Hey, Grif. What do we have next?” Simmons asked curiously. Grif looked up at him.

“Uh, my sisters pads” He told with a shrug. Simmons froze up.

Alright, relaxation time was over.

Grif scoffed at the mans actions, shaking his head. “Dude, c’mon” He said. “You’ve gotta get used to this. It’s not like an unneeded necessity or anything. Kaikaina has to have them, so you don’t have to get so worked up”

“But Kaikaina never does the shopping!” Simmons objected (“Lucky” Grif commented faintly). “And its just weird when I get them. I get weird looks”

Grif hissed. “Those assholes”

Simmons sighed, beginning to crack a small smile. “It’s not like that, Grif. It’s just that I go here all the time. Even before you were here, really. They find it weird that I need them now, because I haven’t needed them before” He told shyly. “And honestly, that just means they might go to weird assumptions!”

“Like what?” Grif prompted.

Simmons thought for a moment. Unable to think of any, he huffed. “I don’t know!” He admitted sheepishly. Grif snorted. “But I also don’t know what they think. So, I don’t know overall. I just. Don’t. Know” He informed scarcely. “We need an excuse though. A good one!”

Grif bit his lip silently. “Well, I do have one we could use...”

“Yeah?” Simmons leant forward gleefully.

Grif smirked. “You could say we have a daughter” He told simply.

Simmons nearly choked right then. “What! N-no... never mind, you’re no help. Let’s just, uh-“ He was getting flustered, Grif realised. And it was so damn cute. “I’m just... bring the trolley forward. I’m going to the cashier. You, uh... I-“

“And what are ya gonna say, Sims?” Grif wondered smugly.

“I’ll improvise!” Simmons shot back panicky.

“Simmons, improvise?” Grif laughed. “This should be good”

He watched as Simmons got to the cashier and began pulling stuff out of the trolley and onto the register. Everything was placed neatly and slowly, except for the pads. He basically threw them onto the counter. The cashier lady eyed him strangely. “Uh, Simmons. I’ve been meaning to ask... sorry if this is offensive, just in case!” She blurted out nervously. “But, uh... why do you need pads?”

Because my boyfriends sister is staying over. That’s all he has to say. With a smile, Simmons says; “Well-“

“It’s for our daughter” Grif cuts in. Simmons jaw drops. He did not just...

“Oh, really?” She grins. “I didn’t know you had a kid, Simmons. I’ll have to meet her sometime. I have a daughter too, and my husband feels just as embarrassed when he has to pick up what she needs. Still, he does it because he loves her. You’re a good parent, Simmons” She said reassuringly.

“Huh?” Simmons faked interest, but was really just mad with Grif.

“What’s her name?” She asked.

“Her... name?” He froze. He looked over at Grif for answers (he got him into this mess, he should have some) but received none. “It’s, uh... well! It’s hard to say... because it’s... um...” He paused, taking a deep breath. “It’s... Roslyn?”

“Roslyn?” She inquired. “Nice name! Ours is called Judie. They should totally hang out some time” She offered happily.

“Yeah, maybe” Simmons shrugged.

“How about next week?” She suggested limply.

Simmons jumped. “Wha-“

“Oh, sorry. They might be two totally different ages” The woman realised anxiously. “Um, my mistake. How old is yours?” She questioned, her head tilting to the side.

Simmons could do this. There was a certain age women began to experience puberty, but there were always unfortunate exceptions. He could fall under those exceptions. “She is six” He replied far too confidentially.

“Ah” She paused. “So is ours!”

Simmons and Grif both made a sound of surprise. “Y-you don’t say?” Grif stammered.

“I do” She nodded. “Poor early bloomers, huh? Oops. I’m sorry, I’m holding you guys up. We can talk about it over the phone maybe. Enjoy the rest of your day” She said, giving them a bag of all of their stuff. They accepted it quickly and basically ran out of the store.

They ended the day by sitting in the car in the car park. Simmons was leaning back in the passenger seat. Grif tapped on the steering wheel awkwardly. “So, I’ve got a plan. We just have a kid, right? Stop one of Kaikaina’s abortions or something. That’s not so hard. Well just raise them on junk food and television. That’s how I was raised”

“Oh, of course” Simmons said through gritted teeth. “And hopefully she won’t notice how our kid is a literal six fucking years younger then we said she was” He snapped.

Grif bit his lip, taking a deep breath. “I never said we were good parents”

“Yeah” Simmons said. “But she thinks we actually could be”

“Hey” Grif said.

Simmons perked up. “Yeah?”

“What if we adopt for a day” He suggested.

Simmons paused. “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard” The freckled man protested.

Grif shrugged, beginning to smile. “And once again, I never said we were smart” 


End file.
